Comparative performances of selected chiral HPLC, SFC, and CE systems with a chemically diverse sample set.

Pharmaceutical companies have a continuous need to resolve new racemates. Analysis may be required in aqueous and nonaqueous media, or in the presence of several different sets of potentially interfering compounds. There is often a preparative requirement. For these reasons analysts may require a number of different separation systems capable of resolving a given pair of enantiomers. We wished to improve upon existing approaches that address this situation and undertook a program of work to screen over 100 racemates, selected for their chemical diversity, on over 100 different chiral HPLC, SFC, and CE systems. Here we report results of this comparison and illustrate the use of rapid gradient screening as a valuable tool for chiral method development. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.